Examining the influence of rumination and self-complexity on attention inhibition

This study explored how rumination affects a person's ability to inhibit distracting or unwanted thoughts. Theories suggest that when this ability is weakened, irrelevant or intrusive thoughts more easily enter the mind and are recalled from long-term memory. The research also explored whether self-complexity—the number of different and distinct roles or aspects of a person's identity—interacts with the tendency to ruminate. The idea is that having more and distinct aspects of the self may offer alternative ways to cope, which could help shift focus away from rumination. To test this, a Rumination Manipulation Task (RMT) was developed in Study 1 to have participants either ruminate on a negative event or distract themselves from it. In addition, self-complexity was measured using the Self-Concept Sorting Task, and attention inhibition abilities were assessed through the Negative Affective Priming (NAP) Task, which both adapted into Turkish in Study 2 and Study 3, respectively. In a 2 x 2 x 2 mixed design, participants were divided by self-complexity (low or high) and by task (rumination or distraction) and the analysis were made separately for the valence of the adjectives (positive and negative) in the NAP Task. The results showed that those with low self-complexity who were distracted had the most trouble inhibiting positive thoughts, responding faster to positive stimuli in the NAP Task. Those with low self-complexity who ruminated, while not statistically significant, also struggled to inhibit negative thoughts. Overall, the findings suggest that self-complexity influences attention inhibition. Whether someone can successfully inhibit positive or negative content may depend on whether they are ruminating or distracting themselves from a negative event.